Public hearings reshape Child Status Bill

A HIGHLY contentious provision of the Child Status Bill relating to the joint custody of a child born out of wedlock could be changed following strong public support for such a change.

After nearly two weeks of public hearings on the proposed legislation which aims to grant equal rights to all children irrespective of whether or not they are born within marriage, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social and Community Development, Elia Kaiyamo, said the committee was strongly in favour of this provision being changed. He said it was an impractical suggestion that parents be granted shared custody of their child when it reaches age seven, as the Bill currently provides.”Men want to be there but they don’t respect their obligations,” he told The Namibian.”Until men reach the level where they are supposed to be, this custody thing cannot happen.”Last week, Dianne Hubbard of the Legal Assistance Centre presented the collective view of sixteen civil society and welfare organisations proposing several amendments to the legislation as it was presented to the National Assembly some months ago.Hubbard suggested rather that the mother have custody of the child from birth until such time as the father applied to the court to change this status.She said this would not in any way affect the father’s right to reasonable access to the child.Hubbard said the groups she represented agreed that both parents have automatic access to their child irrespective of who was the legal guardian and custodian.Kaiyamo said he was impressed by the level of input into the Bill so far, but that there was a great need to educate people about the country’s laws.He said many communities felt that the introduction of new laws were “interfering” with traditional customs.Some were also of the opinion that the new laws would affect marriages in instances were children born out of wedlock had the right to inherit equally as their siblings born within marriage and who often contributed to their parents’ household.Hearings have already been held at several towns in the Hardap and Karas regions as well as at Otjinene, Okakarara and Karibib.The Bill was submitted to public input after it sparked heated debate among parliamentarians, particularly by issues related to custody both during the child’s life and following the death of one parent, as well as the status of children born as the result of rape and children’s right to inheritance.Hubbard said any family member who could prove to have the best interests of the child at heart be eligible to apply for guardianship upon the death of one parent.She said by automatically granting this right to the sole surviving parent could disadvantage the child where that parent was not fit to care for it.Hubbard further proposed that the provisions in the Bill relating to which parents’ surname a child born out of marriage should assume be scrapped from the law under discussion and this matter be dealt with instead under the Births, Marriages and Deaths Act.Hubbard said it was clear that there were many customary issues relating to surnames and that it was time existing legislation be amended to take this into account.Hearings continue in Tsumkwe this week to be followed by Katima Mulilo, Bukalo, Nkurenkuru, Rundu, Omuthiya, Okongo, Okalongo, Opuwo, Khorixas, Uis, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund over the next fortnight.He said it was an impractical suggestion that parents be granted shared custody of their child when it reaches age seven, as the Bill currently provides.”Men want to be there but they don’t respect their obligations,” he told The Namibian.”Until men reach the level where they are supposed to be, this custody thing cannot happen.”Last week, Dianne Hubbard of the Legal Assistance Centre presented the collective view of sixteen civil society and welfare organisations proposing several amendments to the legislation as it was presented to the National Assembly some months ago.Hubbard suggested rather that the mother have custody of the child from birth until such time as the father applied to the court to change this status.She said this would not in any way affect the father’s right to reasonable access to the child.Hubbard said the groups she represented agreed that both parents have automatic access to their child irrespective of who was the legal guardian and custodian.Kaiyamo said he was impressed by the level of input into the Bill so far, but that there was a great need to educate people about the country’s laws.He said many communities felt that the introduction of new laws were “interfering” with traditional customs.Some were also of the opinion that the new laws would affect marriages in instances were children born out of wedlock had the right to inherit equally as their siblings born within marriage and who often contributed to their parents’ household.Hearings have already been held at several towns in the Hardap and Karas regions as well as at Otjinene, Okakarara and Karibib.The Bill was submitted to public input after it sparked heated debate among parliamentarians, particularly by issues related to custody both during the child’s life and following the death of one parent, as well as the status of children born as the result of rape and children’s right to inheritance.Hubbard said any family member who could prove to have the best interests of the child at heart be eligible to apply for guardianship upon the death of one parent.She said by automatically granting this right to the sole surviving parent could disadvantage the child where that parent was not fit to care for it.Hubbard further proposed that the provisions in the Bill relating to which parents’ surname a child born out of marriage should assume be scrapped from the law under discussion and this matter be dealt with instead under the Births, Marriages and Deaths Act.Hubbard said it was clear that there were many customary issues relating to surnames and that it was time existing legislation be amended to take this into account.Hearings continue in Tsumkwe this week to be followed by Katima Mulilo, Bukalo, Nkurenkuru, Rundu, Omuthiya, Okongo, Okalongo, Opuwo, Khorixas, Uis, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund over the next fortnight.